News You Can Use Distributed 04/03/08
MANSFIELD – Nutrition educators and area residents learned they are never too old to improve bone health at Hats Off to Nutrition, a presentation by LSU AgCenter faculty March 27.
Joan Almond, LSU AgCenter nutrition and health agent in Webster Parish, gave a presentation on osteoporosis and supplied booklets with sources of calcium, tips to consume more of the mineral and recipes with dairy products.
Connie Aclin, LSU AgCenter nutrition and health agent in Caddo Parish, put the program together for National Nutrition Month.
Osteoporosis is a condition of weak bones. It is a major health threat for 44 million people over 50, Almond said, noting, “One in two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis fracture.”
Breaking a hip causes lasting problems, Almond said. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery.
Factors that can increase your chances of developing osteoporosis include being female, weighing less than 127 pounds, a family history of osteoporosis, being postmenopausal, an inactive lifestyle, smoking and drinking too much alcohol.
Recommended daily allowances of calcium and Vitamin D and regular weight-bearing exercise can help prevent weak bones. Vitamin D is manufactured in your skin following direct exposure to sun.
“The good news is osteoporosis is preventable,” Almond said.
“Milk is the best source of calcium,” Aclin added. “It is the nearly perfect food.”
Not all soy milk, however, is calcium-fortified, Almond pointed out. She suggested adding milk instead of water to soup, using yogurt as a salad dressing and adding milk to coffee.
For arm exercises, Almond said soup cans can serve as small weights, and dancing can be considered exercise.
The two had demonstrations of healthy and unhealthy bones. Almond compared an unhealthy bone to a malted milk ball that dissolves and goes away.
Like hypertension, osteoporosis is a "silent" condition because many Americans are unaware that their bone health is in jeopardy, Almond said.
A painless bone density test detects osteoporosis. “Talk to your doctor about bone health and take medication when appropriate,” Almond advised.
The nutrition educator recommends checking with your physician or pharmacist for interactions with other prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs.
“Don’t forget to support your bones. They support you,” Almond told the 37 in attendance.
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Contact: Joan Almond at (318) 371-1371, or jalmond@agcenter.lsu.edu Contact: Connie Aclin at (318) 226-6805, or caclin@agcenter.lsu.edu
Writer: Mary Ann Van Osdell at (318) 741-7430, ext. 1104, or mvanosdell@agcenter.lsu.edu